Carbon nanotubes can be composed of a number of coaxial cylinders of graphite sheets, and have recently attracted a great deal of attention for use in different applications, such as field emitters, chemical sensors, battery, and so on. With the development of lithium/sulfur (Li/S) battery, the application of carbon nanotubes in the Li/S battery is a research hotspot.
The Li/S battery is a lithium battery with sulfur as the positive electrode and lithium as the negative electrode. The working mechanism of the Li/S battery is different from that of the lithium ion battery, the former is the electrochemical mechanism, and the latter is lithium ion intercalation-deintercalation mechanism. The Li/S battery is considered to be one of the most promising candidates for next-generation energy storage devices because of its high theoretical specific energy (2600 Whkg−1) and abundant resources. However, the low sulfur utilization and rapid capacity fading causes the Li/S battery to have the short cycle lifetime, thereby preventing the Li/S battery from commercialization. At present, the carbon nanotubes can be used as a current collector of a battery, but the mechanical property, the electrical property, and the chemical property of the carbon nanotubes are insufficient to solve the above problems.
Therefore, there is room for improvement in the art.